I sat back down and chugged the rest of my coffee. It wasn’t strong enough to deal with Moose, and I debated switching to wine already when he sat in the chair across from my desk and looked at me.
“Lily... I’m scared to leave my kids alone. Tess is mentally unstable. I can’t even imagine what I would do if she kidnapped my kids…”
I sighed and looked up at this large alpha man, who was begging for my help. I could see how scared he was, and it broke my heart.
“If she shows up, call the police. I’m working on getting a location for her to serve her papers. Right now, all we can do is wait.”
“I have called the police! All they do is arrest her, then release her, and she’s right back to fucking up my life!”
I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes. “Good. We need a paper trail.”
Moose slammed his hands on my desk again, and I opened my eyes. He was right in my face.
“That’s not enough. How is that protecting my children? I swear to god if anything happens to them…”
I stood up and glared right at him. “Do not threaten me, Moose. That will not end well for you.”
I walked over to a small table with the coffee machine on it and made another cup when Moose came walking over. He grabbed my waist and whipped me around against the wall. My heart beat a little faster as he leaned in and caged me in with his muscular arms.
Moose leaned in close, and for a second, I thought he was going to kiss me. I could feel my breath hitch in my throat as his lips came mere inches from mine.
Oh fuck…
“I’m not threatening you, babe. It’s a fucking promise. My kids are my life and if they get hurt because of you, I will make you hurt even worse.”
Moose whipped around and stormed out the door. I stood there in shock before I could finally get myself together. Grabbing the cup of coffee, I drank it with no sugar or creamer. The black liquid burned my throat as I chugged before setting the empty cup back down.
Walking back to my desk, I pulled Moose’s file from my drawer and stared at it. His ex had left and never returned. He had tried to reach out, but she refused to make any type of contact. Tessa had been gone for almost ten years without seeing her kids.
But now she was back and wanted to be part of their lives, and Moose was not happy about it. Not only that, but she was mentally unstable and a flight risk. I had been trying to serve her court papers to file for abandonment, but she moved around too much and her “friends” would lie and claim she wasn’t there.
I rubbed my temples again when the chimes above my door rang. Looking up, I groaned as Tessa made her way to my desk.
She was wearing a skin-tight yellow dress that made her already pale skin seem almost translucent. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head and a few strands were coming loose. Piles of bracelets jangled along her arms as she wobbled on too high heels toward me.
Tessa marched right to my desk, and I sighed while pushing Moose’s file away.
I really need a receptionist…
She crossed her arms and popped her gum before tapping on my desk. I looked up and schooled my obvious displeasure.
“Hi there. Can I help you?”
Tessa looked around, then back at me.
“Yeah. I need a lawyer to get my kids back. Can you help me?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, I cannot. But there are some other lawyers I can recommend to you.”
Tessa stomped her foot like a toddler and glared at me.
“You gotta help me. I heard you do free shit and I don’t got much money. My ex stole my kids from me. I’ve been searching for them and finally found that he hid them in this hick town.”
I stood and placed a hand on my desk. “Ma’am. I can’t represent you because I already represent your ex, Jacob. And while you’re here…” I reached into my desk and grabbed the paperwork for abandonment. “I’ve been trying to get this paperwork to you. This is for the court to relinquish your rights to the children.”
Tessa snatched the paperwork out of my hand and shoved it in her large purse.
“This has to be a fucking joke! He ran away! I came back, and he was gone!’